Seniors’ mind-body problem
I recently wrote about safe environments for protecting seniors from falls and injuries. But for the mentally competent elderly, mental preparation for activities is perhaps even more important than safe surroundings.
The mind is a curious thing. Its “connection” to the body is one of science and philosophy’s insoluble problems. Descartes, in 1637, proclaimed, “I think, therefore I am,” believing he’d established that the mind and body are one. But of course, all it proved was that he had that particular belief. It didn’t prove either the existence of his body or the nature of the connection between his mind and body.
We know we have minds. We have memories, go to sleep and awaken. We interpret bodily sensations of sight, sound, smell and feel. Science has shown that certain brain areas are responsible for sensations and memories, that brain injuries can alter sensations and memories, and that certain diseases like Alzheimer’s can affect connections within memory.
We call the soul the spark of life that allows biological life to begin and be sustained, and the mind to do its thing. But there is no cell, group of cells or particular part of the body where the soul and mind reside. As separate things, minds and bodies produce different problems for seniors.
The body’s gradual deterioration is obvious. I see mine daily in the mirror. Those who know me can see that I’m not as strong as I used to be. I have balance problems and occasionally careen off walls. To avoid spilling coffee I try to remember to fill my cup only half way, consider where and how to sit without spilling, and how I’m going to bring the cup to my lips to drink.
Sometimes I have to wait for words to come out of my mental closet before I can use them.
But my mind tends to think like it did sixty years ago – when I was in my physical prime. That’s where seniors’ mind-body problem arises. Several months after taking a refresher self-driving course I had an experience that scared the bejabbers out of me and showed me my mind-body problem. It was dark, early evening. I made a right turn onto a moderately busy, narrow road on the outskirts of town. The road has a slight rise near the intersection. Drivers often drive over the 40mph speed limit.
As I turned onto the road, a car’s lights appeared from the left, over the rise. I’m not sure whether he was going too fast, or if I misjudged the time needed for a safe turn. I turned sharply right and went off the road into a two-foot ditch that gradually returned to road grade. I steadied the wheel, sped up, and safely returned to the road. The other driver didn’t honk or, as far as I know, even have to slow down.
I’ve turned that corner countless times. But this time I was slightly late for band practice and had a life problem on my mind. In other words, I wasn’t totally focused on safe driving: the task at hand. One of the caveats in the safe driving course is to not drive when stressed. That scary evening I didn’t have an alternate driver. But I could have driven a different, no longer route. All turns would have been stop light protected and I wouldn’t have had to enter that road.
Failure to maintain focus can have comical results. I know of a busy wife-mother-college student who realized she’d forgotten to put a skirt on when she went to take her coat off at an important meeting. And multitaskers’ lapses in forgetting or doubling ingredients while cooking and doing other things are family legends.
At any age, and without attempting to multitask, lapses in focus can be tragic. On November 11, 1987 Continental Flight #1713 crashed at Denver – killing 28 and seriously injuring fifty others. After being delayed by bad weather nearly two hours, the plane crashed on takeoff. Pilot error was blamed. It was reported that the flaps hadn’t been lowered for takeoff and it is believed the plane needed, but didn’t receive more deicing. The cockpit voice recorder recorded several minutes of “non-pertinent conversation” during the delay.
Professional pilots’ distractions can end tragically for their passengers. To protect their own wellbeing, the elderly owe themselves the discipline of mentally preparing and focusing on safety for their activities.
Although I’m still quite young (80 next month) I find that I have to consciously maintain focus on a lot of tasks I used to do automatically. For that reason I’m thinking about giving up working with the more aggressive power tools in my workshop. Thanks for the reminders about these issues, Doctor Jim.
Since taking the AARP safe driving course and writing this article I carefully make decisions on making turns when driving. I sometimes take circuitous routes through shopping areas to avoid making a left turn onto a four-lane road where there is no traffic light or make a right turn onto a different street so that I can turn left at a light.